I am Gerry and I am retired 9 + years. I decided a while back that while growing my retirement using Dividend Stocks I needed to take out a bit more than just Dividends.

I use Leap Covered Calls and Dividend stocks.

My Basic Strategy is Buy an Excellent Dividend Stock. Than write a 2 YR Leap Covered Call in which the Premium needs to AVerage 5%/YR (Pretty Easy) of the purchase price of the stock.

I harvest monthly in equal chunks the Option Premium( Which you get immediately) + the dividends when they arrive. (Ave 3%) for an ongoing yield well above the Dividend itself.

When a Stock is called away I do an immediate Buy/Write with the Best Stock Available.

I manage my Winners and My Losers for a nice income.

I have about 275,000 worth of Dividend Harvest Money and I have been taking out $18,000 /yr for the past 6 Yrs and my 401K has grown

I spend an Average of 1 hr a week MANAGING this system it is NOT truly automatic. It can be with less profit.

I hope this helps you when it comes time to harvest your Dividend Income.

I have a website where I describe some stuff. I haven't updated it for a yr so I have added a few wrinkles . It isnt a business everything is free I am not a financial planner so please check with who ever you check with for these things.( Required Disclaimer because we live in a litigious Society.)